The Valparaiso
softball team will enter the 2009 Horizon League Championships as the sixth
seed, the league announced today. The
Crusaders will open the tournament against seventh-seeded Green
Bay on Thursday, May 7 at 8 a.m. CDT in Pendleton, Ind.

The winner of the tilt between the Crusaders and the Phoenix will go on to face
top-seeded UIC Thursday at 3 p.m. CDT, with the winner of that contest earning
another bye. The loser of the
opening-round game will play the loser of fifth-seeded Butler and eighth-seeded Youngstown
State on Friday at 8 a.m.

Valparaiso (24-22, 9-11 Horizon) has enjoyed the best
offensive season in school history this year, setting new single-season program
records for batting average, runs, hits, RBIs, home runs, total bases and
stolen bases. The Crusader offense,
which boasts six regulars hitting above .300, is led by freshman Sara Strickland (Phoenix, Ariz./Horizon),
who is hitting .376 with a program-record 42 runs scored on the year. Senior Karen
Korb (Indianapolis, Ind./Lutheran) is hitting .331 with a
single-season record 33 steals on the year and set the Crusader career runs
scored record two weeks ago, while senior Ashley
Wolter (Denver, Iowa/Denver) broke Valpo’s single-season RBI record and
career home run record while hitting .340 this year.